This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/russia-southern-stavropol-alert-bodies-found

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Russia's southern Stavropol region on alert after bodies found Russia's southern Stavropol region on alert after bodies found
(about 3 hours later)
Russia has put security forces on combat alert in the southern Stavropol region after the discovery of five bodies with gunshot wounds and an explosive device, a regional security spokesman said. Russian investigators are trying to determine who killed six men whose bodies were found in four cars abandoned in an area of southern Russia close to the volatile Caucasus mountains.
Russia has already tightened security before next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi – on which President Vladimir Putin has staked a lot of political and personal prestige – and is on high alert after suicide bombers killed at least 34 people in separate attacks in the southern city of Volgograd last month. Three of the cars had been rigged with explosive devices, but only one of the bombs went off and no one was hurt. The victims had been shot, according to investigators.
The five bodies were discovered on Wednesday in four cars in two separate districts outside the regional capital Stavropol, a gateway to the North Caucasus, where Russia faces an insurgency by Islamist militants who have threatened to prevent the Olympics going ahead. The killings, discovered on Wednesday on the outskirts of Pyatigorsk, have further heightened security concerns before the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Both cities lie near the Caucasus region, where an Islamic insurgency is simmering.
An unidentified explosive device was also found near one of the vehicles, said a spokesman for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in Stavropol. No other details were immediately available. Russia has already tightened security before the Games – on which President Vladimir Putin has staked a lot of political and personal prestige – and is on high alert after suicide bombers killed at least 34 people in separate attacks in the southern city of Volgograd last month.
Putin said after the Volgograd attacks that he would annihilate all terrorists in Russia. Vladimir Markin, spokesman for Russia's main investigative agency, said that Federal Security Service officers had joined the investigation, and that no motive had yet been determined.
The Winter Olympics open in Sochi on 7 February. The Black Sea resort is on the western edge of the Caucasus mountains, where the insurgents want to carve out an Islamic state. NTV television reported from the scene that security had been heightened on the nearby border with Kabardino-Balkaria, one of several predominantly Muslim republics in Russia's Caucasus.
The head of Russia's Olympic committee has said no more can be done to safeguard the Games because every measure possible is already in place. Three men whose bodies were in three of the cars have been identified: two were taxi drivers and the third assembled furniture for a private businessman, Russian state news agencies reported, citing law enforcement agencies. Their names have not been released. The men were said to be local residents and drove inexpensive Soviet-model Lada cars.
Russian forces went on combat alert in Sochi on Tuesday and about 37,000 personnel are now in place to provide security at the Games, Russian officials say. The three other victims were found late on Wednesday in a fourth vehicle. An explosive device had been placed next to the car in a metal bucket, but was defused by investigators, Markin said.
Explosives had also been placed near two of the other cars; one of the devices went off as police approached and the other was defused.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.